Maestrul şi Margareta

The devil, calling himself Professor Woland, arrives in Stalinist Moscow with a talking black cat and a retinue of oddities, and sets about humiliating the city's literary bureaucrats. In parallel runs the story of Pontius Pilate and Yeshua in Jerusalem, and the story of the Master, a writer broken by censorship, and Margarita, who bargains with the devil to get him back. Bulgakov mixes slapstick, satire and tenderness.

Suited to readers who enjoy sharp political satire wrapped in fantasy. If you like Gogol or Kafka but want more warmth and mischief, this Soviet-era novel, written in secret and published decades later, is a rewarding place to land.

Deep, contemplative and open-ended; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?